Hands down, the Cecil B. Demented. It's a 5-shot latte with chocolate and caramel. What did I order? A feature-sized latte and a blueberry scone. The latter's pretty solid, and I'm waiting for the coffee to cool down.
Have you heard that the Robinson Film Center, 617 Texas St., will broadcast the presidential inauguration on Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m.? True, and it's free. It'll be in HD and on the big screen, which seats 144. If you want to see it, you better arrive early!
... Blayne Weaver, who's there and debuting "Weather Girl" and the Slamdance Film Festival on Saturday.
Weaver wrote and directed "Weather Girl," a romantic comedy. Brandon Barrera executive produced it. Both are Bossier City natives living in L.A. They're business partners in Secret Identity Productions (remember "Outside Sales?").
“Slamdance is a little more personal, a lot more indie and it’s a lot more fun,” Weaver said. “It’s fantastic to just go to film festivals and be celebrated, but we want to sell ‘Weather Girl.’ What’s really great about this festival is that it feels like the place to do that.”
If you're relatively new to the movie biz and working, you've noticed that sets use their own language. That's why I was pleased to receive this little handbook in the mail today: "Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set."
An obsession with all things Oscar is in full swing at LaMovBlog. Here are the movies, now playing in The Shreve, you should pay attention to:"Gran Torino" (Cinemark Tinseltown, Louisiana Boardwalk 14)
"Defiance" (Cinemark Tinseltown, Louisiana Boardwalk 14)
"Last Chance Harvey" (Cinemark Tinseltown, Robinson Film Center)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Cinemark Tinseltown, Bossier Corners 9)
"Australia" (Bossier Corners 9)
"Doubt" (Bossier Corners 9)
"Let the Right One In" (Robinson Film Center)
"The Reader" (Robinson Film Center)
And of course, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." It's an early best pic fave for next year's race.
"God vs. Science," a short faith-based film by Jabari Thomas, plays freely at the Robinson Film Center tonight at 6 p.m. I'm hosting a post-screening Q&A. The 21-minute flick stars Ted Ferguson (pictured) and a handful of regional actors. If you want to have a conversation about local-local filmmaking, come on down.
I just received this exuberant note from Chris Jay at the Robinson Film Center: "We just got booking confirmation!!!" "Slumdog Millionaire" opens Jan. 23 at the Shreveport art house.
LSUS's Animation and Visual Effects program invites middle and high school students to the following:
WHAT: Introductory workshop for animation and effects.
WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 17).
WHERE: LSUS Technology Center, Room 258.
COST: $10. To register, click here or email avei@lsus.edu.
Program director John Miralles will introduce students to the software and techniques moviemakers use to create effects. They'll learn a little about digital imaging (Adobe Photoshop) and video compositing (Adobe AfterEffects). They'll also create a visual effects shot of their own. No experience necessary.
Local director Jeffrey Goodman plans to push "The Last Lullaby" into theaters in May. The movie was shot here in early 2007 and debuted at the AFI Dallas Int'l Film Festival in March 2008. After a year on the festival circuit, Jeffrey plans to personally tour the film from city to city.
Why the DIY approach? Many reasons, but three stand out for me:
Jean-Claude Van Damme can act. There. I said it. I'm not embarrassed to say I loved his new film, "JCVD," and that I've missed the Muscles from Brussels. The arthouse flick opens tonight at the Robinson Film Center. Yes. arthouse and Jean-Claude Van Damme are mentioned in the same sentence. Don't believe you read it? Check out my review.
Here's the latest update on The Shreve's Best Bar Brawl from 2008. (Thanks for the votes, readers. My New Year's Eve party came in third.)
While amusing and unquestionably brilliant, the sight of me romancing the film reel has run its course.
Right now, I’m thinking about “Benjamin Button” as the anti-Gump. Pitt’s Button is very ordinary, stone-faced, melancholic and good-lookin’. (Perhaps Pitt is doing his best Keanu Reeves impression.) Never really accomplishes anything. Witnesses history but never takes part in it. Loves and always loses. In the end, a lost man. A poor man. Perennial loser.
Not like Hanks’ everyman, who was extraordinarily ordinary, innocent, funny, accidentally heroic and kinda homely. Loves, loses but endures. In the end, a happy man. Stinking rich. An agent of renewal.
Have you seen David Fincher's new masterwork yet? I caught it yesterday with a theater full of patrons. If you've been living far, far away from Planet Louisiana, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was shot in New Orleans. It easily represents the state's biggest project of the decade – "Ray" was no slouch, either – and should garner quite a few Oscar nominations.I'm a bit dismayed by the critical reception Fincher seems to be getting these days. Most critics single out the technical wizardry of his movies – "Zodiac" was similarly praised – but they don't seem to feel his stories, his characters have genuine heart.
Here are a few excerpts from "Button" reviews:
Lisa Schwarzbaum, for Entertainment Weekly: "… this Button is a curious case indeed: an extravagantly ambitious movie that's easy to admire but a challenge to love."
Claudia Puig, for USA Today: "'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (* * * out of four) is worth seeing just for the superb prosthetic makeup and seamless computer-generated effects in which Pitt's head is digitally imposed onto older bodies. The film, ambitious if flawed, also is lyrical and melancholy as it tells the story of a man aging backward.
"But the tale, though laudably imaginative, is overlong and not as emotionally involving as it could be."
Peter Travers, for Rolling Stone: "What Fincher does, shooting digital instead of on film, is simply extraordinary. His astutely restrained direction fuses ferocity and feeling and creates a world you want to get lost in. …
"What Button shows is that Ben is ultimately not the hero of his own life or his own movie. He gets inside our head, that's for sure, but, frustratingly, we never get inside his."
A.O. Scott, for The New York Times, sees the film more clearly: "Above all, though, 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' is a triumph of technique. Building on the advances of pioneers like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Robert Zemeckis — and on his own previous work adapting newfangled means to traditional cinematic ends — Mr. Fincher ('Fight Club,' 'Zodiac') has added a dimension of delicacy and grace to digital filmmaking. While it stands on the shoulders of breakthroughs like 'Minority Report,' 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Forrest Gump' (for which Mr. Roth wrote the screenplay), 'Benjamin Button' may be the most dazzling such hybrid yet, precisely because it is the subtlest. While he does treat the audience to a few grand, special-effect showpieces, Mr. Fincher concentrates his ingenuity on the setting and the characters, in particular — and most arrestingly — on the faces of his stars, Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt."
Kenneth Turan, for the L.A. Times, is baffled: "... 'Benjamin Button' would've had a better chance of success if it had landed in the hands of a director with more of a facility for telling emotional stories than Fincher, whose films include 'Se7en,' 'Fight Club' and 'Zodiac.' No wonder everything feels icy and removed. Giving Fincher this project is like asking the great French humanist director Jean Renoir to do a slasher movie. As my mother used to say, no good will come of this."
I haven't quite worked out my response to these critiques yet, but I'm working on it.
My thoughts run along two lines:
1) As critics and moviegoers, we don't assess digital filmmaking very fairly. We're too hung up on spectacle, and the mere act of perceiving visual innovation/invention. We want to be impressed more than we want to be immersed. (That's not very well put, but I'm working on it.)
2) We're also losing our appreciation for tragic characters like Benjamin Button. We too often dismiss them as "flawed," too often put them at a critical distance, too often describe them as unknowable, or too unlike us.
Again, I'm still cooking on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and will write more about it later.
In the meantime, I'd love to know what you thought about the movie.
PHOTO: Brad Pitt and Tilda Swinton. (Merrick Morton/Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures)
Some local movie-lovers offered their favorite Christmastime movies in today's Times. From "Gremlins" to "Scrooge," it's a pretty fun list.
Allow me to offer my Christmas favorite. Remember, I'm a bit dark in taste. I don't expect to be forgiven.
"Die Hard" – set on Christmas Eve – comes close to my favorite. I'm just lying if I don't consider "A Christmas Story," however over-played it is. I love "O Lucky Man!" for one jaw-dropping Christmas party. (Do not rent this and show it to kids.) "It's a Wonderful Life" features my favorite actor of all time, Jimmy Stewart, so it's really hard not to select it. "Love Actually," which is more honest about Christmas blues than most, is growing on me. Last year, I celebrated the shock-and-awfulness of "Star Wars" Christmas special, but there's one that stands out among the rest.
This year, I have to go with what I want for Christmas something a bit obvious: "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Scared the living daylights out of me when I first saw it. I was 17 or 18, mind you. I still don't know why I responded that way. Because of its subversive quality? Danny Elfman's hypnotic score? The gloomy synergy of Tim Burton and Henry Selick? Was it hearing the bones of children – and teenagers – rattle in horror until the credits rolled? I don't know. I don't really want to know, frankly. I just love it.
Enough of me.
What's your favorite Christmas movie? I'm making a list, checking it twice and don't really care if you're naughty or nice.
Just post your favorites and argue! (Consider it practice for extended family visits.)
"Synecdoche, New York" is one of the most depressing movies I've seen in a long time -- we're talking anything Bergman to the 10th power -- therefore I recommend it wholeheartedly. Bleak and pretty brilliant.
It's no secret to my friends -- hey, I count at least two -- that I love a good downer. Why? I have my theories. So does my imaginary shrink. Here are the top five:
Q: What was your role in the locally filmed "Front of the Class?" and how did you prepare for it?A: I played the Tourette's Group Leader in the support group scene. I actually auditioned for the lead role of Brad Cohen, so I studied him and various other people with Tourette Syndrome. I also researched many books and literature on Tourette's, and a couple of years ago, while doing research for another film in which I played a character with schizophrenia, I met many people with Tourette's at conventions, so I pulled out my observations from those people and put together a series of tics of my own.
Q: What did you learn about the process of making a TV movie?
A: Making a TV movie is similar to a theatrical film, only the turnaround is usually much shorter, so the wait to see it from production to release is not as long and drawn out. Everything seems so much faster and before you know it, the movie has already aired.
Q: What did you enjoy most about the experience?
A: I enjoyed the research process and the chance to play a different kind of role. I've been told that I do my best when I play "extreme" characters and not just the "norm." I also enjoyed the cast and crew, especially getting to know the real Brad Cohen. He is such a phenomenal person and his story is so uplifting. Going to the premiere in Los Angeles was a great experience as well, as everyone was so generous and pleasant.
Q: What Shreveport-based projects have you worked on, and what advice would you share with local actors about getting work?
A: I've worked on several of the Shreveport-based films, including speaking roles in "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" and "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." I've also worked on several independent films, many of which I have written, produced, and directed. Getting the part is not an easy task. It takes a lot of work to prepare for an audition and to make the character your own. If you want to be an actor, then you have to "be" an actor. You can't just say you are and not put any work into it. Take classes, study, research, and practice.
Q: How have you college acting and filmmaking experiences at Stephen F. Austin State University helped you prepare?
A: Earning my degree in film was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I had the opportunity to both act and make films on a weekly basis while in school, which only gave me more and more practice and exposure. I learned what I was doing wrong early, and had the chance to fix it. Getting ripped apart from your peers and instructors is vital to success as an artist, and many actors starting out jump right into it with nobody telling them what they are doing wrong. I'm proud that I was put in my place early, because constructive criticism opens your eyes.
Twelve local artists and filmmakers will showcase their work Saturday for minicine?'s "X-mas Under the Ground." The grinches include Bill Daniel, Michelle Glaros, Sara Hebert, Chris Jay, Leo Kacenjar, Mindy McKoin, Shannon Palmer, Rob Peterson, Jon Rothell, Katie Matza and Matthew Keus, Austin Meyes and Mike Schwalke, and students from the Renzi Art and Education Center. It's all curated by Jen Wasson. Learn more here.
Jerald Amaya gained good memories on the set of "Front of the Class," which debuted Sunday on CBS.The TV movie is based on Brad Cohen's autobiographical book, "Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had."
Amaya, of Greenwood, played a classroom observer toward the end.
"It gave me the opportunity to not only meet the original Brad Cohen, but it (also) gave us a chance to make a friendship," Amaya said.
The local actor was thrilled to be able to sit in a director's chair. Amaya was also a bit surprised when the movie's star, James Wolk, began talking to him about acting.
"It was almost the teacher asking the student for advice," Amaya said. "I have retired from GM, and this is new to me."
He worked at the Shreveport plant between 1992 and 2006. While retirement's nice and all, Amaya's wife encouraged him to try his hand at acting. "It was either sit home and watch reruns of 'The Blues Brothers' and 'Meet the Fockers,' or get out there and try this."
Don Logan, also a local actor, sent an email about his involvement in the project. Logan's a retired DJ (remember Dandy Don, anyone?) and continues to be an all-around music man.
For "Front of the Class," he worked as an extra (or background actor). Unfortunately, his scene was left on the cutting room floor.
"Hopefully in the DVD, they will use some extended cuts," Logan wrote. "OH WELL, as you guys say in SHOW BIZ, those are the breaks."
Like Amaya, Logan believes that getting older doesn't mean you have to drop out of the workforce.
"Remaining active is very important as you become older to stay the well-rounded person you are," Logan wrote. "There are some jobs I can't do. I can't even do all the things I did at 30. But, I can run, jog a little, stand on my feet for long hours and am in good physical health, so I am a background natural for any director wanting the 'grandfather' look."
The monthly meetup at the Robinson Film Center will feature Will Greenfield, associate production office coordinator for "Leaves of Grass." Green's credits include "Disaster Movie," "Soul Men" and "Elizabethtown." If you need details, contact Clare France at RFC.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 9).
WHERE: Robinson Film Center, 617 Texas St., Shreveport.
COST: free.
UPDATED with new show, "Sinners and Saints": 5:39 p.m. Dec. 5.
The latest update from the state follows. Take note of the available jobs at Bullet Films in Lafayette. Really important job opportunities:
Here's what's happening in Louisiana Film for the first week of December 2008:
Bullet Films in Lafayette is looking to add staff for 2009 and is now accepting resumes for the following positions:
Sound Effects Editors, Dialog Editors, Re-recording mixers, Colorists, 2D Vfx Artists, 3D Vfx Artists, Web designers, Graphic Artists/Concept Artists, Assistant Editors, Editors, Composers, Cinematographers
Resumes are currently being accepted by e-mail at jobs@bulletfilms.net
The Most Wanted Films feature film "Sinners and Saints" is in pre-production in New Orleans with shooting scheduled from December 8th through January 15th. Resumes are being accepted by e-mail at info@mostwantedfilms.com.
The Liberty Mutual Independent Media, Inc. short film "Prodigy" is in pre-production in New Orleans with shooting scheduled from December 12 through December 20. This movie is crewed up and no longer accepting resumes.
The Lifetime movie of the week "Acceptance" is shooting in Shreveport with through December 17. Inquiries are being accepted by fax at (318) 682-5671 (no headshots, please).
The independent feature film "Skateland" starring Shiloh Fernandez and Ashley Greene is shooting in Shreveport through December 11. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at skatelandproductions@gmail.com
The Marquis Productions feature film "Fight or Flight" is in production in Lafayette with shooting scheduled through December 20. Resumes for cast and crew are being accepted by e-mail at marquisprods@gmail.com
The independent feature film "My Own Love Song" starring Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker is shooting in New Orleans through December 13. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at myownlovesong08@gmail.com
The Faulkner McLain Entertainment feature film "Alabama Moon" starring John Goodman is shooting in Covington through December 16. Resumes and inquiries are currently being accepted by email at info@faulknerproductions.com. For casting information, please visit www.couloncasting.com
The Mandalay Lifetime Network television movie of the week based on the Nora Roberts book "Tribute" is shooting in Jefferson Parish through December 18. The production is currently crewed up.
The HBO television series "Treme" will begin shooting in New Orleans in early 2009. Resumes for CREW ONLY are being accepted by fax at (410) 986-0029.
And for more information about the film and television industry in Louisiana please visit us online at www.louisianaentertainment.gov and at www.lafilm.org
NPR recently logged a funny story about a book of unforgettable headshots. It's called "Holy Headshot! A Celebration of America's Undiscovered Talent." Our local mugger Eric Gipson is represented. (I can call him a mugger because he stole my wallet once and termed it "magic." True lie, honest.)Wins award for "Best incorporation of a murder scene on a state flag."
P.S. I just told Drew I was going to make him viral. His response? "Sounds like a date I had." Dude's nuts. ... And ladies, he's available.
If you've been following along, you know Edward Norton is pulling double duty on "Leaves of Grass." The comedy recently wrapped production in Shreveport.
Because I know LaMovBlog readers drive the finest in auto transportation, I'm posting this:
Allow the film center's Chris Jay to describe "Plan 9 from Outer Space," the next feature in the monthly series called Friday Night Freak-Out!: "It's on 35 mm film! The print is beat to hell! This is going to be so much fun!"
Sylvester Stallone will star in and direct “The Expendables” for Nu Image/Millennium Films.
"The Wizard of Oz" plays this weekend at the Robinson Film Center, big-screen style. If I can conquer my lung dragon -- my nostrils produce more mucus than a Cronenberg plot -- I'll be there. (Given what you know now, would you rather I stay home?)
PHOTOS: Doug Hyun/Dimension Films.Here is the latest update from the state office:
Welcome to (225) 342-FILM, the official hotline of Louisiana Entertainment. Here's what's happening for the first week of November:
SHREVEPORT
The Lifetime movie of the week "Acceptance" is in pre-production in Shreveport with shooting scheduled from November 23rd through December 17. Resumes are being accepted by fax at (318) 682-5671. No headshots, please!
The independent feature film "Skateland" is shooting in Shreveport through December 3. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at skatelandproductions@gmail.com.
The Millennium feature film "Leaves of Grass" starring Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon and Tim Blake Nelson is in Shreveport through Nov. 13. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at Leavesproductions@gmail.com
(This show wrapped last evening. AGK)
BATON ROUGE
The Films in Motion feature film "Burning Palms" is shooting in Baton Rouge through November 26. Resumes and inquiries are currently being accepted by e-mail at info@filmsinmotion.com.
LAFAYETTE
The Marquis Productions feature film "Fight or Flight" is in pre-production in Lafayette with shooting scheduled from December 1 through December 20. Resumes for cast and crew are being accepted by e-mail at marquisprods@gmail.com.
The Bullet Films feature film "House of Bones" is shooting in Lafayette through late November. Resumes and inquiries are currently being accepted by fax at (337) 706-8971. For casting, please e-mail casting@bulletfilms.net.
NEW ORLEANS
The independent feature film "My Own Love Song" starring Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker is shooting in New Orleans and in central Louisiana through December 13. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at myownlovesong08@gmail.com.
The Scott Free Productions feature film "Welcome to the Rileys" starring James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart is shooting in Jefferson Parish through November 11. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at welcometotherileys@mac.com. For casting information, please visit www.couloncasting.com.
The Faulkner McLain Entertainment feature film "Alabama Moon" starring John Goodman is shooting in Covington through December 16. Resumes and inquiries are currently being accepted by email at info@faulknerproductions.com. For casting information, please visit www.couloncasting.com
The Mandalay Lifetime Network television movie of the week based on the Nora Roberts book "Midnight Bayou" is shooting in Jefferson Parish through November 13. The production is currently crewed up.
The Mandalay Lifetime Network television movie of the week based on the Nora Roberts book "Tribute" is in pre-production in Jefferson Parish with shooting scheduled from November 20 through December 16. The production is currently crewed up.
The Horizon Entertainment football documentary television series is shooting in New Orleans with production scheduled into December. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at info@horizonent.tv.
The HBO television series "Treme" will begin shooting in New Orleans in the first quarter of 2009. Resumes for CREW ONLY are being accepted by fax at (410) 986-0029.
And for more information about the film and television industry in Louisiana please visit us online at www.louisianaentertainment.gov and at www.lafilm.org
The Shreve’s monthly meeting will feature John Miralles, director of LSUS’s animation and visual effects program. Miralles has a pretty impressive track record as an effects compositor, working on projects like “Nim’s Island,” “Madagascar,” “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” “Rescue Me” and “Balls of Fury.” At the meeting, he’ll talk about his career and the new program at LSUS. (The LSUS program is going to produce a short animated film so this may be a way to gain a bit more info about it.)UPDATE: Price was lowered.
Acting coach Jerry Katz will teach a two-day acting course called "The Power of the Actor" Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 in Shreveport, likely at the Actors Café (1401 Fairfield Ave.). You can learn more by clicking here. Cost is $175 and sessions should last about 4 to 6 hours each day.
For more information, contact Vanessa Cloke at (504) 292-6254 or katzactingjoint@yahoo.com.
Katz also aims to teach classes on the North Shore Jan. 17-18 and in New Orleans Jan. 24-25.
The La. Film Industry Guide, which will be in its second edition in January, is now online. The following link might help to production folks looking to survey the local climate.
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